‘I didn’t know I was adopted until I was 14’: Siblings reunited after 50 years apart

Manny Silva was seven-years-old when he was given up for adoption. Fifty years later, he was reunited with his biological siblings in person.

“I didn’t know I was adopted until I was 14,” he says. “Then I started looking for my parents. Years and years went by, and nothing.”

He says more than two decades ago, his two daughters, Vanessa and Jennifer, also started their search.

“It started with a simple paper of his documents,” says Vanessa. “We scattered through everything for years until finally Jennifer and I decided a couple of years back to get my dad an ancestry as a Father’s Day gift.”

“It was when COVID happened; that’s when things changed drastically.”

Vanessa and Jennifer got a hit from someone who claimed to be a relative during the pandemic. A few months later, they found out their dad had five siblings — two sisters and two brothers, along with another brother who passed away at a young age.

“Initially, he thought he only had one brother,” said Jennifer. “He didn’t know about all these other siblings. So, that’s a big shocker.”

All the siblings live in London, England, except one brother who lives in Portugal. Manny and his family planned a trip to the U.K., where he was finally reunited with his siblings.

The meeting in a restaurant was captured on video by Manny’s wife and daughters.

Manny Silva’s daughters, Jennifer and Vanessa, are pictured with their newly reunited biological cousins.

“They came in one at a time,” said Julia, Manny’s wife. “Vanessa’s videotaping, I’m videotaping, Jennifer’s videotaping, Just to see the first moments.”

Julia then sent the video to her sister back in Canada and posted it on social media, where it received tons of love. The family hopes the story can help inspire others in their quest to find their biological family members.

“We had so many responses and comments, saying ‘thank you for this, it’s given me so much hope,” says Nadia D’Arcangelo, Manny’s sister-in-law.

“I hope that’s what transcends to people when they watch the video. It’s just so beautiful.”

“We’ve always been told we look like our father’s side more,” adds Vanessa. “It’s just so cool to be able to say ‘I’m them now.'”

Next year Manny, his adopted family, and his biological family plan to meet in Portugal for a reunion.